Mail-box.



N- 815,770. v PATENTBD MAR. 20, 1906. w'. B. & G. WESTON. i MAIL BOX.

`APPLICJLTION FILED JAN. e. 1905.

' I l z SHEETS-s111131 2.

UNITED STATES,

PATENT oEEIoE.'

WILLIAM EQwESroN AND :eEoReE wnsron, or KANSASCITY, MISSOURI.

"MAIL-BOX.

. No. 815,770. l l. Specification of Letters.Patent.y i `Patented March-20, 1906.

I y f t App1icasqns1euanuarye, 1905. 'seramopzsaeea To @ZZ `whom t may conce-rn.-A

Beit known that we, WILLIAM EJ'WESTON and GEORGE WESTON, citizens of thel United States, andgresidentsAof Kansasity, in the ycounty of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented I new and useful Improvements 'inl Mail-Boxes,-of which the following is a speciflcation Our invention relatesto.letter-boxes, and

4more particularlyto that class of letter-boxesA known and used as rural letter-boxes and which are peculiarly adapted for .facilitating the distribution of mail by thek mail-carrier and also greatly yfacilitate the time` and trouble of thefarmer in gathering. the'mail after it is deposited `in the box by the lettercarrier. v I. I

To this end our invention consists, withcertain novel features and'icombinations, of different parts, which will'be hereinafter described andfclaimed.v v d Figure 1`isal side elevation of the mail- "box Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is a rear end elevation. Fig. 4 a longitudinal section of Fig. 1 indicatedonlines a a and yb b of Fig. 2 land Fig.. 3.l Fig. 5 isa f Across-sectional view of the box, taken on line c c of Fig. 4. Fig. 6`is a vertical section in `vpart of Fig. 2, taken` on line d d lof Fig. 2,

partly indicated in dotted lines in the rear of a flap upon which aletter M, is shown.

Having thus far brieiiy described our invention, we will now proceed to more fully describe it by referring to corresponding numerals on theA drawings and the specifical 1 illustrates the letter-box, mounted on av suitable support 2.. Said box iS constructed of any suitable materiaLheavy galvanized sheet metal being preferred, and is constructed, as shown ,with sides 3 and oval top 4, a front end 5 and a rear end 6 and a bottom 7 The front endis providedr with a suitable door 8. Said door is pivotally secured to the sides 3 by means of a horizontal rod 9, the ends of said rods passing through the sides and riveted, as indicated at 10, the lower end of said door being secured to said'rod by means of bending over the rod and riveting, as indicated by rivets 11. The top of the door is rovided with anlopening 12, as indicated at ig. 6, and is also indicated in dotted lines 13 in Fig-2. The object 'of this opening is to y engage.y a Istaple 14 lwhen thedoor is closed,

sald staple being provided with'anopening 15 to admit a seal or lock for the purpose of edge. .part speedy action to the iiap onits downsecurely closing. In order to add strength to our door, we have provided a thick block of wood or other material 16 as a reinforcement thereto. Said block is of vcorrespondingsize and dimensions of the opening 17 in the end of the box, as seenv in Fig. `5. The sides and ends of the box extend below the bottom 7a suflicient distance 'to `receive a reinforcedbottom or support 18, the object of which is to lsecurely fasten the box to a .proper support2, as indicated'in Fig. 1 Between the bottom 7l of the box proper and the reinforced bottom 18lis an open space 19.-'

Mounted on said bottom are three cross.- beams 20,7 21, and 22. To the beam 20 is secured, by means of an eyebolt 23, a spiral or helicalspring'24. Communicatingwith said to the sides, top, and bottom of the box, as indicated at.. Fig 1 and-Fig-4, but is set back a ox is .e closed with ahead or plate 6, which is riveted' suflicient distance from the end to make itin a measure Secure from the front. l

'A ap 29 is pivotallyA mounted to the rear end of the box ,at 30. andl 3.1 on the outside of they head or plate 6, las shown: Secured to this flap at 32 is one end of a chain 33,. From this point it extends upward, passing through .a horizontal tube 34, that extends from end to end of the box,passing outat 35 in the front end, then down and detachably engaging a hook 36 at the front end of the `box, as

kSeen at Fig. 2. `Secured to the top of the ,box

the storm the same as at 37 is a Smaller ap'38. Painted on the outer face of this iiap is the'letter` M,'as shown. The flap 29, already described, is

provided with a weight 39, secured to its inner face adjacent tothe lower. or curved The object of -said weight is to imwarddescent and, further, to cause it to overcome the friction incident to the dragging' of the chain 33 throughthe tube 34..l The upper halfof therear head of the box above the pivotal points 30 and 31. of the flap 29 is paintedwhite, and the outerface of said Hap 29 is also painted whitefso that theend, as`

IIO

as indicated in Fig. 1, and the lap 29 is inl the position as indicated at Fig. 4. In placing thevbox in position on the support 2 near the mail route the rear end of the box must point or stand toward the farm-house or thepoint that the mail is destined for and the front end of the box to stand adjacent to the road, so that it will be convenient for the carrier to deposit the mail. When the mail is deposited by the carrier, he tosses the flap 38 from the position seen in Fig. 1 to the posi- 'tion seen in Fig. 2 and also seen in Fig. 4, at

the same time releases the chain 33 from its detachable fastening at 36, when the flap will drop from its position seen at Fig. 4 to the position seen at Fig. 3, disclosing a white rear end of the mail-box to the farmer for whom the mail is destined, so that'he will know at a glance that there is mail in the box for him without making a trip to the box in pursuit of his mail, not knowing whether or not there fastens it to its fastening at 36.

is any mail in the box for him. If he sees the end of the box white before he starts, he is assured there is mail in the box.

When the farmer takes the mail Jfrom the box, he iirst tosses flap 38 to the position seen in Fig. 1, opens the door, and takes his mail out, grasps the chain 33, p ulls it down, and The door will automatically close, or nearly so, by means of the tension of helical spring 24.

We have furtherv provided a stop 40, upon which the lower portion of flap 29 rests when it is in the position seen at Fig. 3. 41 indicates a knob secured to the door adjacent to the lower end of iiap 38. The object of said knob is for convenience in opening the door. 45 We have further provided a stop 42, secured to the under side of the projecting end of the top of the box. The object of this stop is to be engaged by the Hap 29, as shown when in the position seen at Fig. 4.

The object that we have in view in placing the initial M on the ilap 38, as seen at Fig. 2, is to indicate to the mail-carrier in passing the box on his route that mail has been deposited by the Jfarmer for him to deliver to the post-oflice.

Having now fully described our invention, what we claim as'new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a mailbox of the character dc- `scribed rectangular in configuration, comprising sides, bottom and top, a front end and a rear end, a door in the front end and a signaling-lap adjustably mounted to the rear end, cross-beams supporting the bottom of the box, a helical spring secured to one of the cross-beams at one end, a chain communicating from the helical spring to the inside of the door at the front end of the box adapted to close the door when open; substantially as described.

2. In a mail -boX of the character described comprising a body portion rectangular in configuration, a front end and a rear end, a door in the front end and an adjustable flap mounted to the rear end, a tube passing through and engaging the front end and the rear end of the box, a chain secured to the Hap at the rear end passing through the tube to the front end; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we al'lix our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

` WILLIAM E. WESTON.

GEORGE WESTGN. Witnesses:

M. L. RYNEx, GLENN E. WooDoox. 

